When the muggles know best
by ChampagneWishes
Summary: While on the run from Voldemort, Harry Potter falls ill with the flu. Desperate, Hermione makes a mission to a muggle pharmacy. sick!Harry R&R pls- this is my first Harry Potter story
1. Chapter 1

While on the run from Voldemort, Harry falls ill.

"We should just stay here the night!" Ron whined, "Set up the tent… We're getting soaked out in the rain and we have no idea where we're going!" Harry was inclined to agree. What had started as an early afternoon drizzle had turned to an icy rain as the sun went down. He shivered.

"Okay," He said. They were hidden deep in the forest. Unsure of their next move. Forced to move from place to place every day to keep under the radar and out of Voldemort's clutches. Today they had decided to risk a mission into a small wizarding community to try and get a copy of the Daily Prophet. . Hermione had done some sort of transfiguration charm to change her and Ron's faces, and Harry had gone under the invisibility cloak. The visit had been disheartening. Everyone seemed frightened and scared, scurrying anxiously through the streets and not making eye contact. The Daily Prophet had a full photo of Harry on the front cover, announcing a reward for any information leading to his capture.

The tent was set up quickly and they all scurried inside toward the warmth. Wet robes were discarded, and they all changed quickly and then sat huddled under blankets, trying to decide their next move. Harry had a headache so he let Hermione and Ron argue, while he sat and stared at a spot on the floor.

"Well, Harry, what do you think?"

"About?"

"Have you not been paying any attention?"

Harry sneezed, "No, not really, sorry… Look, I think we all need to get some rest, figure out what to do in the morning."

"Harry! There's not time for that!" Hermione exclaimed, "We need a plan now!"

"Oh alright…" He pulled the blanket tighter around himself and suppressed a shiver. Then he sneezed again.

"Bless you Harry," Said Hermione, before she resumed planning her battle tactics.

"Thanks," He sniffed. He was relieved when two hours later, Hermione finally decided that everyone needed to get some rest. Harry was glad, he had felt worse by the minute sitting there, his muscles felt sore, his head throbbed, adding to the usual pain from the scar, and his throat was sore. He stumbled into his bed and was asleep within moments.

He woke up only a few hours later, shivering with cold and pulled the blankets closer, but he still shivered. He heard Ron snoring nearby, and was jealous that his friend could sleep so soundly. He made his way over to the living room area, swaying slightly on his feet, and managed to get another blanket, then he climbed back into bed. He sneezed twice, but at least he felt slightly warmer. In fact, after a few moments he was boiling hot. He kicked the blankets off, only to start shivering again. The room spun slightly and he tried to tell himself that he was lying in a bed. The bed was completely still and he wasn't moving. Eventually, exhaustion overtook his discomfort and he fell asleep. He dreamt about snakes, writhing in a pit. Hungry for blood. His blood.

He awoke the next morning with Hermione shaking his shoulder, "C'mon get up!" Even the dim light in the tent hurt his eyes. "Even Ron's up!"

"Yeah…" He croaked, his throat hurt. He started to climb out of bed, but the room swayed violently, forcing him to stay put for a moment and wait for the vertigo to pass. _Maybe if I eat something, I'll feel better. _He thought, shuffling into the kitchen area.

"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah," He sniffed, he didn't want to admit how terrible he felt. He was afraid for their safety, and his being weak and sick could put them all in danger. Of course, just by being near him they were already in danger, and not just from his germs.

"You don't look so good, mate." Ron chimed in, sounding surprisingly concerned.

"I'm fine," He said, trying to sound angry and frustrated, but his words were interrupted by a cough.

"You look like rubbish," Ron added, unhelpfully.

"Can we talk about something besides how I look? Like… I dunno, defeating you-know-who or something?" He sneezed, then shivered.

"Harry, you don't seem like you're in any condition to be confronting anyone right now…" Before he could protest, Hermione's cool hand was on his forehead. "Harry! You're burning up! You should get right back in bed!"

"You were the one who made me get out here…" Harry muttered, but didn't bother protesting and climbed gratefully back into the bed.

"What do we do?" He heard Ron whisper in an anxious voice to Hermine. "If Harry's sick then we can't…"

"I can still hear you!" He yelled back, then he coughed again, and moaned slightly. The coughing jarred his sore brain.

"Well?" Ron asked, "What do we do?"

"Give me a moment to think," Hermione hissed. Harry heard footsteps approaching his bed, and opened his tired eyes to look up at Hermione. "First, we need to figure out what's wrong with you."

"You're a mediwitch now?"

"Shush Ron… Harry, what hurts?"

"I dunno… Everything…"

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific."

Harry sighed, he was tired and not in the mood to be grilled, "I have a headache, my throat hurts… I kind of ache all over, really…"

"Hmm… Sounds like the flu," She felt his forehead again, "And you're definitely running a fever. I guess I could whip up a pepperup potion, but I've never really done that before, I don't even have the ingredients, or…"

"Or what?"

"We could get him some muggle medicine,"

"Muggle medicine?" Ron sounded dubious.

"Yeah,"

"Alright, how do we get it?"

"We have to go to a pharmacy."

"What does a farm have to do with it?"

"Oh never mind… Alright Ron, stay here with Harry. I'll take care of this."

"Are you serious?"

"No, Hermione… It's too dangerous…" Harry struggled to sit up, coughing. The room started to sway again.

"Never mind about that…" She pushed him back down, "We need you alive and healthy. I can do this." She set her mouth in a thin line of determination. Ron and Harry exchanged a look, they knew that face and knew Hermione wouldn't budge.

"Alright…" Ron sighed.

"But first… Harry, let's try and make you a bit more comfortable, shall we?" She left and went to the kitchen, returning with glass of water. She helped Harry sit up, and held the glass to his parched lips. Harry saw Ron's ears turn slightly pink as he watched Hermione sit so close to Harry with her arm on his shoulders. As soon as he was done drinking, she settled him back into the bed. Then she was gone again, and then she returned, this time with a bowl of cool water and a cloth. She dipped the cloth in the water, and lay it on Harry's forehead. "How's that?"

"Feels good…" He admitted, he closed his eyes.

"Alright, Ron, keep that cloth damp- not dripping wet! And give him some more water if he gets thirsty. Okay?"

"Yeah… Sure… But I'm not going to coddle him like a child…"

"Ron!"

"Alright… Alright… Harry, do you want anything?"

"No, I'm alright, thanks." He tried to suppress a slight smirk. The damp cloth had made him feel a bit cooler and had helped with his headache. He felt a bit better.

"Very well then, I'll be back." She started to leave, and then stopped, "Look, if I'm not back by nightfall… You're going to have go. Got it?"

"We got it…"


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione took a deep breath as she stepped inside the brightly store. Pharmacies had once been a familiar staple in her life, and now the place felt as distant as an alien world. The shelves were filled with items that at one time had seemed very important and life- sustaining were oddly obselete, and this category included anything that ran off batteries or electricity.

With great purpose she strode foward to the aisle marked "cold medicine" and began to peruse the shelves.

"Can I help you miss?" A friendly voice asked.

"No thanks, I'm alright." She straightened and gave a small smile to the muggle teen who had greeted her.

His brow furrowed slight, "You look familiar..." He said, studying her closely. Hermione's hand inched toward her wand. She knew it was wrong to use her magic against a muggle but... "Did you go to Halls Secondary School?" He asked brightly.

Hermione relaxed, "No, sorry, I'm not from around here." She moved a few steps away from the boy and he seemed to decide to leave well enough alone.

She made several selections off the shelf, grinning to herself slightly as she thought about what Ron's reaction might be to these strange devices and potions.

**********************************

Harry coughed again and wiped at the sheen of sweat on his forehead, "Is she here yet?" He asked.

"No mate, not yet." Ron was pacing anxiously in front of the tent's entrance.

"Right..." Harry sank back into the saggy pillows and coughed again.

"How are you feeling mate?"

"Lousy," Harry said and sniffed, then he coughed again.

"Do you want something to eat or drink?" Ron offered.

"I'm fine," Harry said. He knew Ron resented having to take care of him like this. As if it wasn't bad enough that he was out here in the woods with Harry, aimlessly searching for... Well, they weren't even sure what they were searching for, but now Harry had to go and get sick on top of it all.

Harry was also quite certain that Ron himself had never been seriously ill with something like a muggle flu and so he didn't quite understand the symptoms that Harry was experiencing. Like the aches in every muscle, the headache that pounded at his temples every time he so much as blinked, and the fever that had him sweating with heat one moment, and then shivering with cold the next. Add that to the fact that he couldn't even sit up without the room going into a dangerous spin...

"When's Hermione getting back?" Ron asked.

"I don't know..." Harry said, wishing Ron, if he couldn't be helpful, at least be quiet.

"Do you think she's okay?"

"I don't know..."

"Considering it's your silly muggle illness that has her out there, I'd think you'd show a little more concern for her!" Ron said.

"Of course I'm concerned!" Harry said, as loudly as he could and sitting bolt upright in bed, which of course brought on a fresh fit of coughing.

"Easy mate... Sorry..." Ron backed off, as he watched Harry's body convulse and his shoulders heave. When the coughing subsided, Harry fell backwards into the blankets and gently massaged his temples as if there was any hope of getting rid of the pain that had lodged itself there. He groaned slightly in discomfort and discontent.

*****************************

"Is that all?" The cashier asked, she was young, maybe the same age as Hermione, but her face was care free.

"Yes," Hermione said curtly. She was starting to feel a little anxious. A small old man wearing baggy blue trousers and an oversized bright green trench coat was looking at her curiously and kept glancing down at the paper he held in his hand. Hermione glanced over, and was certain for a moment that one of the pictures moved. _It's just your imagination, it's making you jumpy_ she muttered to herself.

"I beg your pardon?" The cashier asked.

"Uh... Nothing..." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the man was still peering at her, then he slowly unfolded the newspaper, and Hermione stared in horror as Rita Skeeter winked at her. She didn't wait a moment longer, she threw some cash onto the counter and grabbed the bags and raced out.

"Miss your change!" She heard the girl yell out behind her. She didn't wait. She ran as fast as she could, her heart racing then she ducked into an alleyway and apparated.


End file.
